Citation

Nash C, Dioso-Villa R. Violence Against Women 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/10778012231156154

PMID

36794459

Abstract

Concerns over the legal treatment of women who kill in response to domestic abuse have driven several jurisdictions to reform their homicide laws in recent years. This article examines how abused women are currently treated within the Australian legal system by analyzing homicide cases involving women prosecuted for killing an abusive partner in Australia from 2010 to 2020. The findings reveal the limitations of legal reforms to improve access to justice for abused women. Instead, there needs to be an increased focus toward pre-trial stages of criminal proceedings and to address persistent misconceptions and stereotypes associated with domestic abuse.

Language: en

Keywords

domestic violence; intimate partner homicide; battered women; law reform; self-defense